- Hardcover: 324 pages
- Publisher: Little, Brown & Company; First Edition edition (4 Sep 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0316860026
- ISBN-13: 978-0316860024
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15 x 3.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,222,470 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Review
'Intrigue, high-life and low-life are brilliantly interwoven in a thriller which has a compelling vividness and pungency. The historical details are utterly convincing; one can see and smell Jacobean England and hear its inhabitants speaking.' LAWRENCE JAMES 'Stephen has a good feel for the momentary decisions that can help to shape the course of history - as well, of course, as the cowardice, vainglory and greed' THE TIMES 'A terrific book' THE SPECTATOR
The Good Book Guide, October 2003
Standing history on its head, this is a real treat, both ingenious and supremely satisfying.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Enjoyable historical thriller set in London during the turbulent reign of James 1st which also manages to be an interesting discussion on the disputed authorship of Shakespeare's works.
Martin Stephen is himself an academic, so it is unsurprising that he is obviously genuinely interested in examining the thorny question of the attribution of William Shakespeare's plays. Personally, I have always found a slight whiff of snobbery in scholars who have a problem with the humble son of a provincial glove maker being the greatest writer in English ever born. Why do we need to look for noble highborn author such as Bacon, when contemporaries (e.g.Ben Jonson) are obviously happy to acknowledge William Shakespeare as the writer of his own work? Stephen makes the question of authorship itself seem important, and in an ironic postscript perhaps warns other academics that it is a dangerous subject to examine too deeply...Surprising that Robert Greenes's contemporary attack on "Shake-scene" which would have fitted in very well with the theories outlined in this book are not referenced by Stephen.
The intrigues and polticising our hero Henry Gresham is involved with veer between James Bond and Machiavelli but are dealt with briskly enough. The task that the dying Robert Cecil gives to Gresham could, perhaps, have been made more obviously vital to the good of the realm, but a level of uncertainty is inevitable in a shady spy caper, which is what this book is.
Having a pox ridden Christopher Marlowe return from the dead to act as an insane villain seems rather silly, though it is also amusing and memorable.
All in all, this is a competent adventure yarn with plenty of historical information to impart and academic opinions to give.
Martin Stephen is himself an academic, so it is unsurprising that he is obviously genuinely interested in examining the thorny question of the attribution of William Shakespeare's plays. Personally, I have always found a slight whiff of snobbery in scholars who have a problem with the humble son of a provincial glove maker being the greatest writer in English ever born. Why do we need to look for noble highborn author such as Bacon, when contemporaries (e.g.Ben Jonson) are obviously happy to acknowledge William Shakespeare as the writer of his own work? Stephen makes the question of authorship itself seem important, and in an ironic postscript perhaps warns other academics that it is a dangerous subject to examine too deeply...Surprising that Robert Greenes's contemporary attack on "Shake-scene" which would have fitted in very well with the theories outlined in this book are not referenced by Stephen.
The intrigues and polticising our hero Henry Gresham is involved with veer between James Bond and Machiavelli but are dealt with briskly enough. The task that the dying Robert Cecil gives to Gresham could, perhaps, have been made more obviously vital to the good of the realm, but a level of uncertainty is inevitable in a shady spy caper, which is what this book is.
Having a pox ridden Christopher Marlowe return from the dead to act as an insane villain seems rather silly, though it is also amusing and memorable.
All in all, this is a competent adventure yarn with plenty of historical information to impart and academic opinions to give.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Unlike previous reviewers, I don't consider this book worthy of five stars or, alternately two. It ranks three and a half - which is what it has averaged so far.
It's an engaging read for those who enjoy both a good crime yarn and a historical setting. However, it is rather let down by events that allow the plot to continue but bear little or no examination - not to mention explination. By this, I refer to the main villain's ability to evade caputure/escape from prison and then opt for public exposure when, in all likelihood the consequence would be that he would be carted off back to jail!
If you can suspend your disbelief - like the punters in The Globe would have had to - it is worth a read.
It's an engaging read for those who enjoy both a good crime yarn and a historical setting. However, it is rather let down by events that allow the plot to continue but bear little or no examination - not to mention explination. By this, I refer to the main villain's ability to evade caputure/escape from prison and then opt for public exposure when, in all likelihood the consequence would be that he would be carted off back to jail!
If you can suspend your disbelief - like the punters in The Globe would have had to - it is worth a read.
17 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a book that delves into a fascinating historical period and illuminates one of the greatest british conspiracy theories. It is brilliantly paced and creates its own sense of murky reality throughout. The plot evolves continuously and is never predictable. Very hard to put down and I read it in three sittings. Although some simplicity of character is present I believe the book achieves well what it sets out to do - tell an exciting piece of history in a vivid and fun manner. Recommended.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Rollicking good read!
Another rollicking good adventure novel based in the early 17th century. A complex hero, dashing, resourceful, witty , charming with a mind like a razor and just a hint of the... Read more
Published 2 months ago by jANEIOU
If heaven were a book...
Having read the prequels to this literary masterpiece, i could not be blamed for expecting great things and wetting my pants in anticipation, and i was by no means... Read more
Published on 30 Aug 2006 by Odin Barton
If you can't equal them, involve them as characters . . .
Shakespeare, Marlowe, and Bacon all feature in this novel whichregurgitates some of the controversy surrounding the true authorship ofShakespeare's plays, and speculates about... Read more
Published on 21 April 2004 by epeemeister
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